Dubai
Dubai (Arabic: ????? Dubeii; IPA: [du'beii]; English pronunciation:
/du?'ba?/ doo-by) is an emirate in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). A city
within the emirate is also named Dubai. The emirate is located south of
the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population
with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after
Abu Dhabi.[4] Dubai and Abu Dhabi are the only two emirates to have veto
power over critical matters of national importance in the country's
legislature.[5] Dubai City is located on the emirate's northern
coastline.
The earliest mention of Dubai is in 1095, and the earliest settlement
known as Dubai town dates from 1799. Dubai was formally established in
1833 by Sheikh Maktoum bin Buti al Maktoum when he persuaded 800 members
of the Bani Yas tribe, living in what is now part of Saudi Arabia, to
follow him to the Dubai Creek by the Al Abu Falasa clan of Bani Yas, and
it remained under clan control when the United Kingdom assumed the
protection of Dubai in 1892.[6] Its geographical location made it an
important trading hub and by the beginning of the 20th century, it was an
important port. In 1966, the year oil was discovered, Dubai and the
emirate of Qatar set up a new monetary unit to replace the Gulf Rupee.
The oil economy led to a massive influx of foreign workers, quickly
expanding the city by 300% and bringing in international oil interests.
The modern emirate of Dubai was created after the UK left the area in
1971. At this time Dubai, together with Abu Dhabi and four other
emirates, formed the United Arab Emirates. The following year Ras al
Khaimah joined the federation while Qatar and Bahrain chose to remain
independent nations. In 1973, the monetary union with Qatar was dissolved
and the UAE Dirham introduced throughout the UAE. A free trade zone was
built around the Jebel Ali port in 1979, allowing foreign companies
unrestricted import of labor and export capital. The Gulf War of 1990 had
a negative financial effect on the city, as depositors withdrew their
money and traders withdrew their trade, but subsequently the city
recovered in a changing political climate and thrived.
Today, Dubai City has emerged as a global city and a business hub.[7]
Although Dubai's economy was built on the oil industry, the emirate's
model of business drives its economy, with the effect that its main
revenues are now from tourism, real estate, and financial services,
similar to that of Western countries.[8][9][10] Dubai has recently
attracted world attention through many innovative large construction
projects and sports events. This increased attention has highlighted
labour rights and human rights issues concerning its largely South Asian
workforce.[11] Almost half the population of Dubai comprises Indians.
Dubai's property market experienced a major deterioration in 2008 and
2009 as a result of the worldwide economic downturn following the
financial crisis of 2007–2010.[12]
In the 1820s, Dubai was referred to as Al Wasl by British historians. Few
records pertaining to the cultural history of the UAE or its constituent
emirates exist and because of the region's oral traditions, folklore and
myth were not written down. The linguistic origins of the word Dubai are
disputed; some believe it to have originated from the Persian language,
while some believe that Arabic is its linguistic root. According to Fedel
Handhal, a researcher in the history and culture of the UAE, the word
Dubai may have come from the word Daba (a derivative of Yadub, which
means to creep); referring to the slow flow of Dubai Creek inland. The
poet and scholar Ahmad Mohammad Obaid traces it to the same word, but to
its alternative meaning of locust.[13]
Although stone tools have been found at many sites, little is known about
UAE's early inhabitants as only a few settlements have been found.[14]
Many ancient towns in the area were trading centers between the Eastern
and Western worlds. The remnants of an ancient mangrove swamp, dated at
7,000 BC, were discovered during the construction of sewer lines near
Dubai Internet City. The area was covered with sand about 5,000 years ago
as the coast retreated inland, becoming a part of the city's present
coastline.[14] [15] Pre Islamic ceramics have been found from the 3rd and
4th century.[16] Prior to Islam, the people in this region worshiped
Bajir (or Bajar).[16] The Byzantine and Sassanian (Persian) empires
constituted the great powers of the period, with the Sassanians
controlling much of the region. After the spread of Islam in the area,
the Umayyad Caliph, of the eastern Islamic world, invaded south-east
Arabia and drove out the Sassanians. Excavations by the Dubai Museum in
the region of Al-Jumayra (Jumeirah) found several artifacts from the
Umayyad period.[17]
The earliest recorded mention of Dubai is in 1095, in the "Book of
Geography" by the Andalusian-Arab geographer Abu Abdullah al-Bakri. The
Venetian pearl merchant Gaspero Balbi visited the area in 1580 and
mentioned Dubai (Dibei) for its pearling industry.[17] Since 1799, there
has been a settlement known as Dubai town.[18] In the early 19th century,
the Al Abu Falasa clan (House of Al-Falasi) of Bani Yas clan established
Dubai, which remained a dependent of Abu Dhabi until 1833.[19] On 8
January 1820, the sheikh of Dubai and other sheikhs in the region signed
the "General Maritime Peace Treaty" with the British government.[14] In
1833, following tribal feuding, the Al Maktoum dynasty (also descendants
of the House of Al-Falasi) of the Bani Yas tribe left their ancestral
home of the Liwa Oasis, South-west of the settlement of Abu Dhabi and
quickly took over Dubai from the Abu Fasala clan without resistance.[19]
Dubai came under the protection of the United Kingdom by the "Exclusive
Agreement" of 1892, in which the UK agreed to protect Dubai against the
Ottoman Empire.[19] Two catastrophes struck the town during the 1800s.
First, in 1841, a smallpox epidemic broke out in the Bur Dubai locality,
forcing residents to relocate east to Deira. Then, in 1894, fire swept
through Deira, burning down most homes.[20] However, the town's
geographical location continued to attract traders and merchants from
around the region. The emir of Dubai was keen to attract foreign traders
and lowered trade tax brackets, which lured traders away from Sharjah and
Bandar Lengeh, which were the region's main trade hubs at the time.
Persian merchants naturally looked across to the Arab shore of the
Persian Gulf finally making their homes in Dubai. They continued to trade
with Lingah, however, as do many of the dhows in Dubai Creek today, and
they named their district Bastakiya, after the Bastak region in southern
Persia.[20][21]
Dubai's geographical proximity to Iran made it an important trade
location. The town of Dubai was an important port of call for foreign
tradesmen, chiefly those from Iran, many of whom eventually settled in
the town. By the beginning of the 20th century, it was an important
port.[18] Dubai was known for its pearl exports until the 1930s; the
pearl trade was damaged irreparably by World War I, and later on by the
Great Depression in the 1930s. With the collapse of the pearling
industry, Dubai fell into a deep depression and many residents starved or
migrated to other parts of the Persian Gulf.[14]
In the early days since its inception, Dubai was constantly at odds with
Abu Dhabi. In 1947, a border dispute between Dubai and Abu Dhabi on the
northern sector of their mutual border, escalated into war.[22]
Arbitration by the British and the creation of a buffer frontier running
south eastwards from the coast at Ras Hasian resulted in a temporary
cessation of hostilities.[23] Electricity, telephone services, and an
airport were established in Dubai in the 1950s, when the British moved
their local administrative offices there from Sharjah.[24] After years of
exploration following large finds in neighbouring Abu Dhabi, oil was
eventually discovered in Dubai in 1971, albeit in far smaller quantities,
after which the town granted concessions to international oil companies.
The discovery of oil led to a massive influx of foreign workers, mainly
Indians and Pakistanis. Between 1968 and 1975 the city's population grew
by over 300%.[25]
On 2 December 1971 Dubai, together with Abu Dhabi and five other
emirates, formed the United Arab Emirates after the former protector,
Britain, left the Persian Gulf in 1971.[26] In 1973, Dubai joined the
other emirates to adopt a uniform currency: the UAE dirham.[18] In the
1970s, Dubai continued to grow from revenues generated from oil and
trade, even as the city saw an influx of immigrants fleeing the Lebanese
civil war.[27] Border disputes between the emirates continued even after
the formation of the UAE; it was only in 1979 that a formal compromise
was reached that ended hostilities.[28] The Jebel Ali port was
established in 1979. Jafza (Jebel Ali Free Zone) was built around the
port in 1985 to provide foreign companies unrestricted import of labour
and export capital.[29]
The Gulf War of 1990 had a huge effect on the city. Depositors withdrew
massive amounts of money from Dubai banks due to uncertain political
conditions in the region. Later in the 1990s many foreign trading
communities—first from Kuwait, during the Gulf War, and later from
Bahrain, during the Shia unrest—moved their businesses to Dubai.[21]
Dubai provided refuelling bases to allied forces at the Jebel Ali free
zone during the Gulf War, and again during the 2003 Invasion of Iraq.
Large increases in oil prices after the Gulf War encouraged Dubai to
continue to focus on free trade and tourism.[30]
Dubai is situated on the Persian Gulf coast of the United Arab Emirates
and is roughly at sea level (16 m/52 ft above). The emirate of Dubai
shares borders with Abu Dhabi in the south, Sharjah in the northeast, and
the Sultanate of Oman in the southeast. Hatta, a minor exclave of the
emirate, is surrounded on three sides by Oman and by the emirates of
Ajman (in the west) and Ras Al Khaimah (in the north). The Persian Gulf
borders the western coast of the emirate. Dubai is positioned at
25.2697°N 55.3095°E and covers an area of 1,588 sq mi (4,110 km2), which
represents a significant expansion beyond its initial 1,500 sq mi (3,900
km2) designation due to land reclamation from the sea.
Dubai lies directly within the Arabian Desert. However, the topography of
Dubai is significantly different from that of the southern portion of the
UAE in that much of Dubai's landscape is highlighted by sandy desert
patterns, while gravel deserts dominate much of the southern region of
the country.[31] The sand consists mostly of crushed shell and coral and
is fine, clean and white. East of the city, the salt-crusted coastal
plains, known as sabkha, give way to a north-south running line of dunes.
Farther east, the dunes grow larger and are tinged red with iron
oxide.[25]
The flat sandy desert gives way to the Western Hajar Mountains, which run
alongside Dubai's border with Oman at Hatta. The Western Hajar chain has
an arid, jagged and shattered landscape, whose mountains rise to about
1,300 meters in some places. Dubai has no natural river bodies or oases;
however, Dubai does have a natural inlet, Dubai Creek, which has been
dredged to make it deep enough for large vessels to pass through. Dubai
also has multiple gorges and waterholes which dot the base of the Western
Al Hajar mountains. A vast sea of sand dunes covers much of southern
Dubai, and eventually leads into the desert known as The Empty Quarter.
Seismically, Dubai is in a very stable zone—the nearest seismic fault
line, the Zagros Fault, is 200 km (124.27 mi) from the UAE and is
unlikely to have any seismic impact on Dubai.[32] Experts also predict
that the possibility of a tsunami in the region is minimal because the
Persian Gulf waters are not deep enough to trigger a tsunami.[32]
The Dubai-Sharjah-Ajman metropolitan area at night
The sandy desert surrounding the city supports wild grasses and
occasional date palms. Desert hyacinths grow in the sabkha plains east of
the city, while acacia and ghaf trees grow in the flat plains within the
proximity of the Western Al Hajar mountains. Several indigenous trees
such as the date palm and neem as well as imported trees like the
eucalypts grow in Dubai's natural parks. The houbara bustard, striped
hyena, caracal, desert fox, falcon and Arabian oryx are common in Dubai's
desert. Dubai is on the migration path between Europe, Asia and Africa,
and more than 320 migratory bird species pass through the emirate in
spring and autumn. The waters of Dubai are home to more than 300 species
of fish, including the hammour. The typical marine life off the Dubai
coast includes tropical Fish, jellyfish, coral, dugong, dolphins, whales
and sharks. Various types of turtles can also be found in the area
including the Hawksbill turtle and Green Turtle which are listed as
endangered species.[33][34]
Dubai Creek runs northeast-southwest through the city. The eastern
section of the city forms the locality of Deira and is flanked by the
emirate of Sharjah in the east and the town of Al Aweer in the south. The
Dubai International Airport is located south of Deira, while the Palm
Deira is located north of Deira in the Persian Gulf. Much of Dubai's
real-estate boom is concentrated to the west of the Dubai Creek, on the
Jumeirah coastal belt. Port Rashid, Jebel Ali, Burj Al Arab, the Palm
Jumeirah and theme-based free-zone clusters such as Business Bay are all
located in this section.